146 MATABELE LAND. 
pursued till evening, when temporary huts were con- 
structed for the night, which, however, unfortunately 
proved a wholly ineffectual shelter from the heavy 
rain which fell early the following morning, thoroughly 
saturating everything inside. The day Itself was 
fine and hot, but was again succeeded by heavy 
rain at night, which Induced the party on March 5th 
to retrace their steps to the waggons, recrossing the 
Semokwe In their march, which was now swollen 
with the recent heavy rains. One of the Bushmen 
was carried off his legs in crossing the river, but, 
seizing hold of another of the party, regained his 
footing, and reached the opposite bank In safety. 
The big rifle he was carrying escaped with a severe 
wetting. After this the party moved slowly back 
towards the TatI, halting a short time on the banks 
of the Sakasusi, and elsewhere upon the v/ay ; and 
reaching the settlement on March 1 7th. The game 
met with during their absence had been much the 
same as that Frank Gates had found in his former 
journeyings further to the north, and Included — 
besides buffalo, quagga, pallah, and sassaybi, all of 
which were obtained early In the hunt — giraffe, 
rhinoceros, wildebeest, and koodoo. 
Still remaining at TatI a few days after their 
return there, Frank Gates, as already mentioned, 
started thence for Bamangwato on April 4th, accom- 
panied by a hunter and two traders, also on their 
way south. By the middle of March the weather 
seemed to have become quite settled, and the days 
were almost universally fine and hot, with only an 
